Impacts of Global Warming on Alpine Plants Growing in the Japanese Alpine Zone and Possibility of Monitoring Global Warming Impacts with Alpine Vegetation

抄録

　This paper introduces the results of our research projects for the Ministry of the Environment and discusses the possibility of using alpine vegetation to monitor global warming impacts in Japan. We plotted the trend of air temperature in the Japanese alpine zone, and then collected information on possible global warming impacts there, some of which we studied in detail. We elucidated the relationships between these impacts and meteorological factors. From these relationships and common future climate scenarios, we estimated potential global warming impacts in the Japanese alpine zone. We devised a measuring system that could operate properly in the alpine zone, where conditions are very severe. The system operates unmanned, runs on solar power and is small and lightweight. This paper discusses the possibility of monitoring global warming impacts using alpine vegetation in Japan.